Talk about an intimidating task: to make sense of what minds far greater than mine have managed to mess up for 30 years or so.

The topic is dietary fat. The reason for tackling the topic today is because a bicycling buddy of mine recently said: "This keeps slipping my mind, but what about that article or paper or something that now says it's perfectly fine to eat saturated fat?"I knew of the study. I also knew I didn't want to tackle such controversy in the middle of a ride. I told him we'd talk later, but we never did.So I'll write about it now, inform you in the process, and send him a copy.What my buddy probably read was a newspaper or Internet article written as the result of a study published in the March 2014 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. That study analyzed 76 prior studies done to determine how the different types of fat monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and man-made trans fats affect the heart.Prior to this study, the general consensus in the medical community was that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats promoted heart health if used in moderation, saturated fat harmed heart health unless limited severely, and man-made trans fat should be avoided.The aforementioned meta-analysis, however, didn't agree with that. Because of what the researchers called "a heterogeneity of the associations" for all types of dietary fat creating heart disease, the authors concluded that "current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats."In other words, what the experts have been telling you for 30-plus years is wrong. Immediately, some of those experts went on the attack.Walter Willet, MD, DrPH, author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (Simon and Schuster, 2001) and the head of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health since 1991, cited the article's shortcomings and called for a retraction. In May, the Annals of Internal Medicine admitted to six errors in the article. Along with the changes, however, came a note from the authors that the corrections "do not affect the main conclusions reported in the original article."In other words, we goofed up a bit, but what the experts have been telling you for 30-plus years is still wrong.While an overview of meta-analysis and the aftermath may prove interesting, it does little to answer a question that's probably pretty important to you: "How much fat and what type should I be eating?"It would be foolish to offer an across-the-board response. The correct answer for you only comes after considering a myriad of personal factors.Do you currently have heart disease or is there a history of it in your family?If so, it would be difficult to dismiss 70-plus years of research and consume saturated fats freely. Don't forget that the correlation between diets high in saturated fat and high cholesterol often a harbinger of heart disease was first established in the 1940s. By the 1960s, most doctors believed a diet low in dietary fat would benefit anyone.And don't forget of the skepticism expressed when a single study even a study of many other studies suggests a change in status quo. Due to variables in even the most stringent research and the conservative nature of the medical community, even the researchers of the meta-analysis have called for more research to be done before suggesting dramatic dietary changes.If you currently have heart disease or it is found in your family, stick to the current advice of limiting saturated fat to less than 10 percent of your daily caloric intake.Do you want to lose, gain, or maintain body weight?Whether or not the three different types of fats affect your health differently will be debated for years. What's not up for debate is that one gram of any type of fat contains nine calories, more than double the amount found in carbohydrates and protein.Since you typically eat the same amount of food by weight every day, weight loss or weight gain unless you are keeping yourself consciously in check by weighing foods or following a specific diet will be determined by the percentage of fat, simple carbs, complex carbs, and protein you eat each day.While consuming simple carbs like those found in white bread, desserts, and virtually all processed foods that don't proclaim to be whole grain can cause you to gain unwanted weight just as easily, the new emphasis on consuming "healthy" fats makes it just as likely for you to gain unwanted weight that way.A very good and very petite friend of mine did this by eating an avocado a day.Similarly, eating frequent salads often undermines a diet if you use even moderate amounts of cheese and dressings with each of them.